U.S. patent application number 12/260236 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-29 for sampling pipe.
This patent application is currently assigned to Institute of Nuclear Energy Research Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan. Invention is credited to HSIU-WEI LEE, YUAN-SHUN TSAI.
Application Number | 20100101338 12/260236 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42116187 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100101338 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TSAI; YUAN-SHUN ; et
al. |
April 29, 2010 |
SAMPLING PIPE
Abstract
A sampling pipe suitable for sampling materials in a channel is
disclosed. The sampling pipe includes a hollow body and a plurality
of openings. The hollow body has a plurality of sampling sections,
and these sampling sections are suitable for being disposed in the
channel. The openings penetrate through the outer wall of the
hollow body and locate in the sampling sections. Wherein, there is
at least one opening in each sampling section, and flux of
materials flowing into each sampling section is the same.
Inventors: |
TSAI; YUAN-SHUN; (Taoyuan
County, TW) ; LEE; HSIU-WEI; (Taoyuan County,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WPAT, PC;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ATTORNEYS
7225 BEVERLY ST.
ANNANDALE
VA
22003
US
|
Assignee: |
Institute of Nuclear Energy
Research Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan
Taoyuan County
TW
|
Family ID: |
42116187 |
Appl. No.: |
12/260236 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
73/863.52 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 2001/1037 20130101;
G01N 1/2035 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
73/863.52 |
International
Class: |
G01N 1/20 20060101
G01N001/20 |
Claims
1. A sampling pipe suitable for sampling material in a channel,
comprising: a hollow body, having a plurality of sampling sections
adapted to be disposed inside the channel; and a plurality of
openings, being disposed on the sampling sections while penetrating
through the outer wall of the hollow body; wherein, each sample
section is formed with at least one of the plural openings for
allowing the flux of materials flowing into those sampling sections
to be the same with each other.
2. The sampling pipe of claim 1, wherein there is only one opening
formed on each sampling section, and the apertures of the openings
formed on different sampling sections are different from each
other.
3. The sampling pipe of claim 2, wherein the apertures of the
openings formed on the sampling sections disposed at positions near
the channel's wall are smaller than those away from the wall of the
channel.
4. The sampling pipe of claim 3, wherein the hollow body is
configured with a marker for identifying whether the sampling pipe
is disposed correctly for sampling the channel as soon as the
marker is aligned with the wall of the channel, while the marker is
located on the hollow body at a position thereof in a manner that,
for any one opening of the sampling pipe, the distance between that
opening and the marker divided by the aperture of that opening is a
constant.
5. The sampling pipe of claim 1, wherein each of the sampling
section of the sampling pipe has a plurality of openings formed
thereat while enabling those openings formed on the same sampling
section to have the same apertures.
6. The sampling pipe of claim 5, wherein the amount of the openings
formed on the sampling sections disposed at positions near the wall
of the channel are fewer than those away from the wall of the
channel.
7. The sampling pipe of claim 6, wherein a portion of the plural
openings is sealed by a plurality of sealing parts.
8. The sampling pipe of claim 1, being adapted for analyzing
radioactive materials in the channel.
9. The sampling pipe of claim 1, wherein the channel is a
ventilation pipe.
10. The sampling pipe of claim 1, wherein the channel is a drain
pipe.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a sampling pipe, and more
particularly, to a sampling pipe having a plurality of openings
formed thereon in a manner that each opening is capable of allowing
the same flux of materials to flow into the sampling pipe.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is common for facilities like hospitals and laboratories
to use radioactive materials. Therefore, for ensuring the safety of
personals that are working regularly in such facilities, a certain
radioactivity sampling and mocitoring must be performed in those
facilities in a regular base so as to ensure the operations of such
facilities meet with a radiation safety standard and regulation
defined by relating nuclear regulatory authority. It is noted that
one of such radioactivity sampling and mocitoring is a gas-sample
analysis performed upon a gas sampled from a ventilation pipe by
the use of a sampling pipe.
[0003] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a conventional sampling
pipe. In FIG. 1, the sampling pipe 100 is a hollow tube with two
open ends 102, 104. Operationally, the sampling pipe 100 is adapted
for sampling gases from a ventilation pipe S by insetting its open
end 102 into the ventilation pipe S while connecting another open
end 104 to the piping of a inspection apparatus. Thereby, a portion
of the gases flowing in the ventilation pipe S will be diverted to
flow into sampling pipe 100 through the open end 102, and then, the
gases flowing into the sampling pipe 100 through the open end 102
will be pumped to the inspection apparatus for radioactivity
analysis.
[0004] However, as the sampling pipe 100, through the open end 102,
can only sample the gas relating to the position in the ventilation
pipe S where the open end 102 is located, the sampled gas may not
represent all the flowing situations in the ventilation pipe S. In
addition, as the flowing speed of the gas flowing in the center of
the ventilation pipe S is faster than those flowing near the pipe
wall, the radioactivity measured from the gases sampled at the
center of the ventilation pipe S may be different from those
sampled at a position near the pipe wall so that the measured
radioactivity may be varied with the positioning of the open end
102. Therefore, the information acquired from the aforesaid
conventional sampling pipe may not represent the whole truth of the
actual situation in the ventilation pipe S.
[0005] Conventionally, the aforesaid problem is solved by insetting
more than one such sampling pipes 100 in the ventilation pipe S
while locating the corresponding open ends 102 at different
positions in the ventilation pipe S. However, the insetting of more
than one sampling pipe 100 into the pipe wall of the ventilation
pipe S may adversely affect the airtightness of the ventilation
pipe S. Therefore, it is suggested not to inset more than one
sampling pipe 100, especially for those ventilation pipes having
radioactive gases flowing therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a
sampling pipe capable of accurately measuring the radioactivity in
a working environment.
[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides
a sampling pipe suitable for sampling materials in a channel, which
includes a hollow body and a plurality of openings. The hollow body
has a plurality of sampling sections, and these sampling sections
are suitable for being disposed in the channel. The openings
penetrate through the outer wall of the hollow body and locate in
the sampling sections. Wherein, there is at least one opening in
each sampling section, and flux of materials flowing into each
sampling section is the same.
[0008] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each of
the sampling section of the sampling pipe has one opening formed
thereat while enabling the apertures of those openings at different
sampling sections to be different from each other. For instance,
the apertures of the openings formed on the sampling sections
disposed at positions near the channel's wall are smaller than
those away from the wall of the channel. In addition, the hollow
body is configured with a marker for identifying whether the
sampling pipe is disposed correctly for sampling the channel as
soon as the marker is aligned with the wall of the channel, while
the marker is located on the hollow body at a position thereof in a
manner that, for any one opening of the sampling pipe, the distance
between that opening and the marker divided by the aperture of that
opening is a constant.
[0009] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each of
the sampling section of the sampling pipe has a plurality of
openings formed thereat while enabling those openings formed on the
same sampling section to have the same apertures. Moreover, the
amount of the openings formed on the sampling sections disposed at
positions near the wall of the channel are fewer than those away
from the wall of the channel. In addition, a portion of the plural
openings is sealed by a plurality of sealing parts.
[0010] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the sampling
pipe is adapted for analyzing radioactive materials in a
channel.
[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the channel can
be a ventilation pipe or a drain pipe.
[0012] To sum up, the sampling pipe of the invention is
substantially a hollow tube configured with a plurality of sampling
sections while each sample section is formed with at least an
opening for allowing the flux of materials flowing into those
sampling sections to be the same with each other, and thereby, the
sampling pipe of the invention is capable of accurately measuring
the amount of radioactive materials containing in a working
environment.
[0013] Further scope of applicability of the present application
will become more apparent from the detailed description given
hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed
description and specific examples, while indicating preferred
embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration
only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and
scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the
art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are
not limitative of the present invention and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a conventional sampling pipe.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a sampling pipe according to a first embodiment
of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a sampling pipe according to a second
embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0018] For your esteemed members of reviewing committee to further
understand and recognize the fulfilled functions and structural
characteristics of the invention, several exemplary embodiments
cooperating with detailed description are presented as the
follows.
[0019] Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a sampling pipe
according to a first embodiment of the invention. The principle of
the sampling pipe of the invention is to allow the flux of
materials flowing into different sampling sections of the sampling
pipe to be the same with each other. In FIG. 2, the sampling pipe
200 is adapted for sampling a material flowing in a channel S'. It
is noted that the channel S' can be a ventilation pipe or a drain
pipe. In this embodiment, the material flowing in the channel S' is
a gaseous material and the sampling pipe 200 is adapted for
analyzing radioactive materials in a channel S'.
[0020] In detail, the sampling pipe 200 of the present embodiment
includes a hollow body 220 and a plurality of openings 240, in
which one end of the hollow body 220 is formed as a close end that
is the potion for insetting into the channel S', while the other
end is formed as an open end, similar to the open end 104 shown in
FIG. 1, that is the portion for connecting to the piping of a pump.
The hollow body can be made of copper, aluminum, acrylic or other
materials. In this embodiment, the hollow body 220 is configured
with a plurality of sampling sections 222, and the openings 240 are
formed penetrating through the outer wall of the hollow body 220
and are disposed on the sampling sections. As shown in FIG. 2, each
sample section 222 is formed with at least one of the plural
openings 240 and the same time that it is adapted to be disposed
inside the channel S'. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, there are
only four sampling sections 222 in the sampling pipe 200, but it is
not limited thereby.
[0021] There is one opening 240 formed in each sampling section 222
of the sampling pipe 200, and the apertures of the openings 222
formed on different sampling sections 220 are different from each
other. Moreover, the apertures of the openings 222 formed on the
sampling sections 220 disposed at positions near the channel's wall
are smaller than those away from the wall of the channel S', in
that as the sampling section 222a is the sample section located
inside the channel S' at a position farthest from the wall of the
channel S', its aperture 240a is the largest among all the openings
220, and on the other hand, as the sampling section 222b is the
sample section located inside the channel S' at a position nearest
to the wall of the channel S', its aperture 240b is the smallest
among all the openings 220.
[0022] Since the sampling section 222b is disposed at a position
relatively close to the pump, it will be subjected to a larger
suction pressure comparing to the sampling section 222a which is
disposed farther away from the pump. Therefore, by designing the
opening 240a with larger aperture and the opening 240b with smaller
aperture, the two openings 240a, 240b can allow the same amount of
gaseous material to flow therethrough per unit time, and thus the
gaseous material flowing in the channel S' can be sampled
uniformly.
[0023] Qualitatively, for any one opening 240 of the sampling pipe
200, the distance between an opening and the wall of the channel S'
is directly proportional to the aperture of such opening. That is,
the farther an opening 240 is disposed away from the wall of the
channel S', the larger its aperture will be.
[0024] Furthermore, the size of the apertures of those openings can
be defined quantitatively, which is realized by marking a marker R
on the hollow body 220. The marker R is marked on the hollow body
220 at a position for enabling the distance between any one of the
openings 240 and the marker R divided by the aperture of that
opening to be a constant. In this embodiment, the marker R for
identifying whether the sampling pipe is disposed correctly for
sampling the channel aligned with the wall of the channel S'.
However, it is not limited thereby and can be defined according to
actual requirement.
[0025] From the above description, it is noted that since the
sampling pipe 200 of the invention is configured with a plurality
of openings 240 for enabling the same to sample gaseous materials
flowing in different positions in the channel S', the sampling
result of the sampling pipe 200 may represent the whole truth of
the actual situation in the channel S'.
[0026] To sum up, the sampling pipe 200 in this embodiment can
ensure the flux of materials flowing into those sampling sections
to be the same with each other by the use of those openings 240
with different apertures. Comparing with those conventional
sampling pipes that the radioactivity measured from the gases
sampled at the center of the channel S' may be different from those
sampled at a position near the pipe wall as the flowing speed of
the gas flowing in the center of the channel S' is faster than
those flowing near the channel wall, the sampling result of the
sampling pipe 200 of the invention will not be affected by the
flowing speed regarding to where it is being sampled since it is
designed with openings 240 of different apertures. Therefore, the
sampling result of the sampling pipe 200 may represent the whole
truth of the actual situation in the channel S'.
[0027] Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a sampling pipe
according to a second embodiment of the invention. The sampling
pipe 300 shown in FIG. 3 is similar to the one 200 shown in FIG. 2
that it is also configured with a hollow body 320 and a plurality
of openings 340. In this embodiment, the hollow body 320 is
configured with a plurality of sampling sections 322, and the
openings 340 are formed penetrating through the outer wall of the
hollow body 320 and are disposed on the sampling sections 322 in a
manner that each sample section 322 is formed with at least one of
the plural openings 340. Moreover, the sampling sections 322 are
adapted to be disposed inside the channel S'.
[0028] In the sampling pipe 300 shown in FIG. 3, there are more
than one openings 340 to be formed on each sampling section 322
whereas the openings 340 in the same sampling section 322 are
designed with the same aperture, in which the amount of the
openings 340 formed on the sampling sections 322 disposed at
positions near the wall of the channel S' are fewer than those away
from the wall of the channel S'.
[0029] For realizing the aforesaid design principle that the amount
of the openings 340 formed on the sampling sections 322 disposed at
positions near the wall of the channel S' are fewer than those away
from the wall of the channel S', the sampling pipe 300 may first be
designed with the same amount of openings 340 on each of its
sampling sections 322, as the five openings shown in this
embodiment, and then seal a portion of the openings 340 in its
sampling sections 322 by the use of sealing parts with regard to
the positions of where the sampling sections are adapted to be
located in the channel S'. It is noted that the decision regarding
to how many openings 340 are to be sealed is experimentally decided
and is known to those skilled in the art so that it is not
described further herein.
[0030] Similar to the sampling pipe 200 shown in the first
embodiment, since the sampling pipe 300 in this embodiment is
configured with a plurality of openings 340 for enabling the same
to sample gaseous materials flowing in different positions in the
channel S', the sampling result of the sampling pipe 300 may
represent the whole truth of the actual situation in the channel
S'.
[0031] To sum up, the sampling pipe 300 in this embodiment can
ensure the flux of materials flowing into those sampling sections
322 to be the same with each other by configuring different amount
of openings 340 of the same aperture in different sampling sections
322. Comparing with those conventional sampling pipes that the
radioactivity measured from the gases sampled at the center of the
channel S' may be different from those sampled at a position near
the pipe wall as the flowing speed of the gas flowing in the center
of the channel S' is faster than those flowing near the channel
wall, the sampling result of the sampling pipe 200 of the invention
will not be affected by the flowing speed regarding to where it is
being sampled since it is designed with openings 240 of different
apertures. Therefore, the sampling result of the sampling pipe 200
may represent the whole truth of the actual situation in the
channel S'.
[0032] From the above description, the sampling pipe of the
invention has the following advantages: [0033] (1) The sampling
pipe of the invention is configured with a plurality of openings
for enabling the same to sample gaseous materials flowing in
different positions in the channel, the sampling result of the
sampling pipe may represent the whole truth of the actual situation
in the channel. [0034] (2) The sampling pipe of the invention is
capable of accurately measuring the radioactivity in a working
environment since it can ensure the flux of materials flowing into
those sampling sections to be the same with each other. [0035] (3)
Comparing with the prior-art technique that the accuracy of
sampling a channel is improved by insetting more than one sampling
pipe into the wall of the channel, the present invention can
achieve the same or ever better accuracy by the use of only one
sampling pipe so that the conventional airtightness problem in the
channel is solved.
[0036] With respect to the above description then, it is to be
realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts
of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape,
form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are
deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and
all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings
and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed
by the present invention.
* * * * *